Farmingdale State - 101, Mount Saint Vincent - 85
Riverdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State men's basketball team defeated Skyline opponent the College of Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday afternoon, 101-85, to improve to 8-3 overall, 4-0 in conference play. Junior forward AJ Matthews (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and freshman forward Ibrahim Johnson (New York, N.Y.) led the team with double-doubles in the victory.
In a high paced first stanza, the visiting Rams shot 66.7-percent from the floor and scored 38 of their 51 points in the paint. Johnson led the offensive attack with 15 points in 12 minutes of action in the first. Farmingdale State pushed the lead to double-figures with a 24-11 spurt and saw a 41-25 advantage with 3:17 left in the half. Matthews converted a bucket at the horn to send the Rams to the locker room leading 51-39.
In the second half, the Dolphins came out quickly and cut the deficit to just six points, 51-46, with a couple three-pointers from Mark Waite (Chicago, Ill.) and Chris Bonaventura (Staten Island, N.Y.) over the first four minutes. But the Rams scored 12 of the next 15 points to hold a 77-55 lead with 11 minutes left to play.
The Mount went on a 14-5 run keyed by seven points from junior Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to make it 77-71 with 6:59 showing on the clock, but the Rams would respond with a 14-3 run of their own and never looked back as they rolled to the 16 point conference victory.
Farmingdale St. had five players in double-figures in the game and three who scored better then 20 points. Matthews posted a game-high 26 points and 14 rebounds, his ninth straight double-double of the season. He also blocked a pair of shots in the win. Senior guard Joshua Smith (Deer Park, N.Y.) and Johnson each contributed 21 points. Johnson posted career-highs while also hauling in 10 rebounds. Junior guard Ryan Davis (Flushing, N.Y.) finished with 11 points and a game-high nine assists.
Cunningham led four Dolphins in double-figures with a team-high 23 points. Gauvard tallied 14 points, Bonaventura and Caputo each finished the day with 11 points.
The Rams will now host Skyline opponent St. Joseph's on Tuesday night in a double-header with the women's team. The women will tip-off at 6:00 p.m., followed by the men at 8:00 p.m.
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